Items of Power Quartet Book 1: Kibou no Hikari
by LoneHowl
Summary: Cats and crows aren't supposed to mix, and such is proven when a girl discovers that demons aren't as mythical as she once believed. Currently on hiatus and under revision.
1. 1: A Bump in the Night

Welcome once again to Kibou no Hikari. As you can see, it's undergoing major revision.

Dis: i no own. you no sue. simple, ne?

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"Girl, I know that you can do better than a 'C'. And why is your room so messy! You cleaned it two weeks ago!" A woman yelled to a 15 year old.

"Well, not everyone is able to ace a Math Final! And you know that I can't stay organized! I swear; I wish my -father- were still around!" She had never known her father. Her mother had always said that he walked out on them before she was born. Megan had never really believed this because whenever she got mad, something useless or stupid would explode. But she had no choice.

"Don't talk back to me, young lady. Now I want you to got to your room and make it spotless. Every one of those stupid posters and Yu Yu Whatever pictures will come down! Not another word about it!" he mother said, ignoring the father comment. Megan death glared at her, Hiei style, and went up to her room.

'_I hate my mother, and the little whiny ass she calls a son… Wish they would just fall off the face of the planet… Or better yet, maybe -I- could vanish…_' She fumed as she took down all of her posters. She put them into a folder. Kneeling down, she pulled up a loose floorboard and put the folder in, along with her other prized possessions. She walked out of her room, and, after a brief moment, went into her mother's room.

On the nightstand was a black box. Megan opened it. Inside was a small crystal ball, no bigger than a golf ball. It was tinged slightly with gold.

'_Let's see what she does when her precious crystal is missing…_' she thought as she took the ball and shoved it in her pocket.

She snuck down the stairs and, after checking to make sure her mother was watching TV, went silently out the back door.

As she did, she got that feeling of paranoia, like she was being watched. Even though she wore glasses, she could see in the dark better than most people. She took a path that went from her house through a park to a nearby hotel. Maybe she could room there for the night.

She ran from her house, not so much as looking back. As she ran, everything was blurred. She got that paranoid feeling again, but ignored it. As she ran, she saw a flit of black in the corner of her vision, but kept on going. The black flit-thing followed her. _'Great, just what I need, a thug stalking me._'

She eventually got tired and slowed to a walk. She was walking by an alley when she thought she heard a kitten mewling. Curious, she went to see if anything was there. She looked around a bit, but she didn't find anything. Rolling her eyes, she turned to leave when she felt something trip her. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to feel her face getting acquainted with the ground, but she felt nothing.

In the alley, fading echoes were the only clue that there had been a living being there a second before.

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There you have it. Please tell me if the revisions are going well. 


	2. 2: Feline Transformation

To:

pyroblader -I'm on your favorites list?! thanx!

Lil Bob

Rose of Ebony -Dude! You could be me! what do you look like?!

Yami-AJ Yu-Yu-InuCaptor -well, thanx!

Solita-15-20 -you like my work that much?! I'm honored!

-hands out cyber cookies-

Wow. O.o I have reviewers that are not people that I know! Cool! You mean you people actually like this?! Well, for all my wonderful reviewers, those 4 of you that I don't know, here's chapter two! This one is a LITTLE Mary-Sue-ish, sorry. It was only the second fic I ever wrote, so be patient!

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Megan's POV.  
  
I was falling. I felt strange, like my body was changing. I felt my glasses disappear. Suddenly, I hit something. My pack fell off my back and I opened my eyes.

"Oh, ow, that hurt..." I moaned.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" I opened my eyes. In front of me was a very tall (and ugly) orange-haired person and I had landed on his black-haired friend.

"Well, it's not MY fault if I was sucked into a vortex and I landed on you!" I yelled. They two boys stared at me. Well that carrot-head did, the black-haired one was still under me.

"What are you staring at, Kuwabara?" I yelled out without thinking. Then I realized what I said. "Wait... Kuwabara?! Then that must mean... SHIT!" I yelled out.  
  
Yusuke's POV.  
  
Kuwabara and I were walking back from our last match. Suddenly, out of the blue, someone falls out of the sky and lands on me! They lie still for a second then they come around.

"Oh, ow, that hurt..." She said.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" I yelled.

Then she yells, "Well it's not MY fault if I was sucked into a vortex and I landed on you!" Then Kuwabara started to stare at the girl.

She noticed this and yelled, "What are you staring at, Kuwabara? Wait... Kuwabara?! Then that must mean... SHIT!"

She got up off of me very quickly and then I saw her. She looked like any normal teen, except for the fact she had a tail and cat ears. She had long blonde-brown hair; she was thin; and tall, taller than Kuwabara. But what struck me most was that she had amber cat- like eyes. And the fact that she looked like a demon. With her brown cat's tail and brown cat's ears on her head, she did look like a demon.  
  
Megan's POV.  
  
Ok. They were staring at me. I could only guess at what he thought about me. 'Man, she is hot! But my question is, where did she come from?' Yusuke must have thought. His eyes gave it away. Before I could guess from Kuwabara's mind, not like there would be anything TO guess from it, a black blur phased into the scene. When it slowed down enough, I saw who it was.

"Who is this, Yusuke?" he asked in that voice I knew all too well. I sighed.

"I have no clue; she fell out of the sky and landed on top of me." Yusuke said.

"She fell out of the sky, hm?" The new comer said.

"Yeah, you wanna make something of it, speed-demon?" I said hotly, totally forgetting my love of Hiei for the moment. (AN: GASP! HOW COULD I EVER FORGET THAT?!)

'She has no idea the truth of those words...' I think Yusuke thought. God, the eyes show all!

"Yes, I DO know the truth of my words, Yusuke, but thank you for trying. And, yes, I know he's a fire demon. Well, half, at least... I think..." I said. He looked somewhat pissed, but I just couldn't resist saying that. Then I saw that the person's right arm was wrapped in bandages. "Oh... I know how that happened... I think."

"Oh, really? Then what happened to my hand?" he taunted.

"My memory isn't the best, but I'll try anyway... Let me see... Well, first, let's leave here so no one will find us..." I said as I picked up my bag. We went into an alley and he asked again.

"Ok, let me see... Judging from the way you all look somewhat battered, this is still the Dark Tournament. Hiei, could you tell me, did the tournament just start or is it near the end?"

"We just qualified for the semi-finals." "Ok, first is because of the Black Dragon tattoo is there and those are wards and second... my guess is, you did that 'Dragon of the Darkness Flame' technique, at least I think that's what it's called, and that's what severely burned your right hand." Then I noticed something. He had a new bandana over his forehead.

"I see you got a new bandana, Hiei." I said.

"And why would you think it's new?"

"Because, when you did that attack, the last one burned itself off."

"And why did it burn off?"

"Because, that third eye of yours, the Jagan Eye, I think it's called, totally opened and all the youki burned it off."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"Well, the Dark Tournament episodes were only the best episodes of Yu-Yu- Hakusho known to the series..." I muttered.

"And how do you know all of this information about me?"

"I'm only a Hiei fangirl..."

"Episodes? I think—"

"I've lost you. Right?"

"Yes..." This was the most words that I'd ever heard him say in one sitting. WOW. I looked around. Normally, where there was Hiei there was also Kurama. Where was fox-boy anyway?

"Hiei, there you are!" I had to ask. I rolled my eyes and moved off to the side. That was when I finally noticed something. I had a cat's tail. And cat ears. That meant I looked like a demon. Damn. Not a good thing.

"Who's this, Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know. She fell out of the sky and landed on top of Yusuke." Kurama looked at me.

"Where did you come from? And who are you?"

"Well, I came from the Ningenkai, and last I checked I was human. My name is Megan."

"How old are you?"

"I'm 15 about to turn 16. Why?"

"Just curious." When I saw that he had no more questions, went up the nearest tree, sat on a branch and opened my bag and pulled out my diary. I started to write about what just happened. Then I sensed that Hiei was there, watching me.

"Hiei, I would really like it if you would stop watching me write in my diary. This IS private, you know." I said. I went back to work, oblivious to everything else, while muttering something about nosey demons.

Then, I remembered something. Why was I a demon-thing? I thought about this for a while then it hit me. I must have had a hidden demon side or something, that's why I'm a demon now. I put away the diary and looked at my new features. I figured my new ears were the same color as my new tail; a light golden brown tipped with black. My eyeteeth were longer and somewhat sharper and my nails had gotten sharper as well. I pulled out my compact mirror and looked at my eyes. They used to be grey human eyes (AN: this is true. I do have grey eyes. my friends say they are silver. read on!), now they were amber cat's eyes.

I was jerked out of my thoughts when Botan was suddenly right up next to me. I lost my balance and almost fell out of the tree. I grabbed the branch with my claws just in time.

"Dammit, Botan, don't do that! Do you always scare people like that?!" I yelled when I regained my balance. I flicked my tail angrily and my ears went back. My hair even fluffed out a bit. She looked surprised at my outburst.

"That's the first time you've acted like a demon, huh?" she asked. She wasn't being annoying like usual. Something was up.

"Just because I look like a demon doesn't mean I have to act like one, Botan." I said coolly. I had calmed down now. My ears had gone back up and my hair had gone back down.

"Have you seen Yusuke's Spirit Beast yet?"

"The little blue stuffed animal thing? Puu? Yeah, I know what it looks like."

"He came to show you?" "No." "Then how...?" "I know a lot of things, Botan."  
  
Botan's P.O.V  
  
Megan looked down at the ground and seemed to calculate the height off the ground. Then she jumped off her branch and landed neatly on the ground. Then I remembered why I was out here in the first place. Silly me. (AN: did I just write that?!)

"Hey, I was supposed to come out and get you. The guys want to ask you questions." I yelled to her. She looked up at me with amusement.

"Tell me something I don't know." She said. "Lead the way." I led her to where we were staying. She looked around and appeared to be counting. What a strange girl.

* * *

Well, there it is. Yeah, yeah, it starts off slow, but I have BIG plans for this story.

Did you know that the person who does the voice for Pikachu in Pokemon is also the voice actor for Youko Kurama!?

-LoneHowl, "I howl away from my pack."


	3. 3: Fur Flies

Here, a long chapter. I was busy yesterday, so I couldn't update. Sorry!

Oh, and I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter.

I. No. Own. You. No. Sue.

And for this chapter:

-glares at lawyers- go away! I don't own it, so leave me alone!

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Megan's P.O.V  
  
I looked around. Someone wasn't here. Let's see... Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru, Kurama, Hiei, Yukina, Botan... Who isn't here? Oh, that's right... Genkai wasn't here. Now where...? No, wait, I don't want to know. I jinxed myself last time I did that. I was jerked out of my thoughts where someone got up in my face. I hissed and backed away.

"Get out of my face, Yusuke! Geez, first Botan, then you, are you people trying to give me a heart attack?!" I yelled. For the first time since I got here, Hiei looked faintly amused. Keiko came up and dragged Yusuke away by his ear, muttering something about flirting with other girls. I grinned.

'_Serves him right._' I thought. I flicked my tail in amusement. Then I remembered why I was here. "Botan said you guys had questions...?"

"Yes... How did you get here?" Kurama asked.

"Well... I was running from home when I heard something in an alley. I went to check it out and found a kitten. I just have a soft spot for animals. I picked it up to bring it to the nearest animal shelter but dropped it when I was sucked into a vortex/portal/thingy. I fell and landed on Yusuke." I said. "And, before you ask, yes, I was human before I fell on Yusuke."

"How old are you?" Hiei asked.

"I'm 15 almost 16. Like I said to Kurama."

"How do you know us so well?" Yusuke had (somehow) escaped Keiko.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"Fine, just don't blame me if you don't like or believe it. Where I come from, all of you are made up. Even still, there are fangirls who would do anything to meet you people. Let's just say that any self-respecting fangirl would know you people to a point where it is just scary. Like me." I said. '_I still don't know what I did, but I'll find out. I'll ask Koenma about it later or maybe force it out of Botan..._' I added silently.

"What do you know about me?" Kuwabara asked.

"Other than the fact that you are a baka and that I have no clue how you managed to get this far into the show without dying? Not too much. Oh, and if you call Hiei 'shorty' or 'shrimp' while in my presence, I will beat the crap out of you. Do not test me." I said. I looked around. Yusuke was gone.

'_Not again! Does he HAVE to make this hard_?'

'_Yes, he does._' I jumped and looked around. Of course. Hiei.

'_Don't DO that, Hiei. I'd like to keep my thoughts to MYSELF thank you! Where did he go, anyway?_'

'_He left with the Masked Fighter about ten minutes ago. I don't know, go find him._'

'_Some help you are..._'

'_Hn._' Just then, Botan grabbed my wrist.

"C'mon, I'll show you to where we're sleeping!" she said in a hyper way.

"Botan, two things. One, Tone down the annoying hyper-perkiness. There is NO way that the Grim Reaper has the right to be this perky. Two, don't EVER touch me unless you want to meet my claws. Ok?" I said. She let me go and I followed her into the room. I sat on the bed and flopped down. I was asleep within 5 minutes.

---

Warm... comfy... niceness... sleeeeeeep... I woke up to the sound of Botan's voice.

"Megan, get up! We don't want to miss the semi-finals! Come ON, get up, get UP!" she yanked the covers off of me and I curled up into a tighter ball. Then I sat up and looked in a conveniently placed mirror.

The pupils in my eyes were little slits and my fangs showed a little over my bottom lip. My hair was all screwed up and my tail was limp. I got up and stretched. The directions I bent my body around in to stretch would make a yoga trainer flinch and the sheer number of cracks that were heard was sickening. Botan stared at me. After I stretched, I got dressed and was ready just as they walked out the door. They handed me a breakfast bar as I passed. It LOOKED Ningen-made, so I figured Keiko was smart and brought them.

"Did anyone ever think to tell you that I am NOT a morning person?" I mumbled. Keiko looked at me. Then she looked at Puu and made the comment that he looked miserable. He feels whatever Yusuke feels, so why...? Oh, that's right... Genkai's final test. When we got to the arena, I was surprised to see that Botan had gotten hold of an extra ticket. From what I remember, she left theirs at the hotel in the show, so how she actually got an extra was beyond me. Oh, wait... that was before the finals, wasn't it? I also saw someone that I hadn't noticed before. Yukina.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Yukina. Who are you?" she said quietly.

"I'm Megan. Nice to meet you." I smiled. She smiled back. We followed Botan to our seats (perfect view of the fights) and waited for the teams to come out. I handed Puu off to Keiko, much to his unhappiness, and turned to Yukina.

"Is there any particular reason why you're here? I mean, you don't really strike me as the kind of person who likes to watch fights. Especially fights that tend to get really ugly." I asked her.

"I'm here because I had this feeling my brother would be here. I've been looking for him for a long time." Yukina said.

"A brother?"

"Yes."

'_You talk, you die. Say one word to her and you will feel my wrath._' Hiei's voice sounded in my head.

'_Deja-vu... Hiei, I'm not Botan, I can keep a secret. Chill out._' I thought back. I looked down at him from the stands. He looked up and I could clearly see the threat written all over his face. I nearly cried. Is it my fault if I have a soft spot for him?! Kurama looked up to see what Hiei was looking at and his gaze fell on me. I blushed furiously. Dammit, WHY must I have a soft spot for him too?! Not really him, but Youko Kurama. Why must I be cursed with a soft spot for them? Why?

"Why are you blushing?" Yukina had noticed.

"Don't tell anyone, but I have a soft spot for both Hiei and Kurama. Please don't tell!" I said. Yukina smiled. I looked down to see which unlucky team had the misfortune to fight Team Urameshi next. As the opposing team walked out, every girl in the stadium; with the exception of Botan, Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina and myself; started to scream. That meant only one thing.

"No... Not him... there's only two people who could get that reaction from the crowd and they are Touya and Shishiwakamaru. Who is it? No... It's Shishi! This is Team Uraytogi." I whispered. Yukina looked at me.

"First it will be Hiei, then Hiei again, then Kurama I think, then Kurama again, then Kuwabara. I never saw the episode with Shishi vs. Kuwabara! I don't know who wins! No, wait... I remember now..." We watched as Hiei killed the first quickly and skewered the second, and it got interesting when Kurama stepped up. Uraurashima, the kid with the Iddun Box, stepped up as well. Automatically, I remembered my two favorite episodes. The only two I saw with Youko Kurama in them. I looked to Shizuru.

"Shizuru, when I start to stare into the fog with a blank love-struck look on my face, slap me, ok?" I asked. She nodded. I looked at the ring and found that I could see through the fog. That was when I saw him. Youko Kurama. He even had the Death Tree in his hand. (AN: insert fangirl squeal here) Shizuru slapped me but I still stared. All too quickly, the fight was over and Yoko Kurama went back to being normal Kurama. I was sad and horrified at the same time.

'_No! NOOOO!!! That did not just happen, that did not just happen... I am not worthy of what I just saw... I am not worthy enough to have seen that... WHY does he have to go back to normal?! WHY?!_' I screamed in my head. Then I had one of my random thought moments. '_If Hiei is part Koorime then does he have hiruiseki stones too? I've never, ever seen him cry, so I can't be sure._'

'_Yes._' came Hiei's voice. I jumped and nearly screamed.

'_(breathing heavily) Hiei, please don't do that. It scares the hell out of me when you randomly answer my thoughts. It really does._'

'_Hn. You asked a question so I answered._' Came the reply.

'_You tell Kurama that I like him, I tell Yukina that you're her brother. Understood?_'

'_Hn._'

'_Hiei, I'd love to glomp you, but I value my life. Be grateful that I do._'

'_Hn. Baka onna._'

'_Baka yokai._' Hiei looked up at me and gave me one of his signature death- glares. I nearly fainted. '_I am so not worthy..._'

I was so deep in my thoughts of Youko Kurama and Hiei that I totally missed Kuwabara, no, wait GENKAI vs. Shishi. Oh, well... I saw Youko Kurama in person! I WAS THERE TO SEE IT HAPPEN!!! I didn't see Genkai against Suzuka, either, but I remember that one. That was funny. We walked back to the hotel to relax. The whole time we walked, I stared at Kurama. I had only one thought in my head.

'_I'm not worthy enough to be in his presence..._' Just then, Hiei sent a mental image of him laughing at me, so I sent one back of him getting acquainted with my claws. He sent one back of him telling Kurama so I retaliated with one he couldn't ignore or strike back at. A picture of Yukina. I sent him a picture of me grinning in triumph.

'_Baka._'

'_You're just mad that I know every one of your weak spots. Everything from Yukina to your friendships with Kurama and Yusuke._'

'_Hn._'

'_Hiei, you know what I would really like right now?_'

'_What?_'

'_For you to hit Kuwabara so hard he passes out. I'd do it, but I don't think I could hit him hard enough._'

'_No._'

'_No what? 'No: you won't hit him', 'No: I'm not strong enough', or 'No: he won't pass out'?_'

'_Options one and two._'

'_Baka youkai._'

'_Hn. Baka neko onna._' Why do I have a soft spot for him? I looked at him and glared. He glared right back with about ten times the intensity. (AN: insert another squeal here) Then I had another random thought.

'_Jin annoys me. So does Botan now that I think about it. I hate Kuwabara all together. If Jin stays away from me, I'll be happy._' As if on cue, Jin flew up to us.

"'Ey, there, Urameshi! See ya picked up a pretty lass now, 'aven't ya? You're a lucky one!" he said very quickly. My right eye started to twitch. Anyone who knows me knows what happens when my eye twitches.

"Jin, come here. I want to tell you something in your ear." I said in a too sweet, you-had-better-fear-for-your-health-and-safety kind of voice. He smiled and came closer. "Jin, YOU ANNOY ME!!!" I yelled in his ear. He yelped and backed away.

"The pretty lass is a tad violent, now ain't she?" he chuckled while rubbing his ears. Yusuke stared and I looked at Jin.

"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to cut you to ribbons. Annoy me again, though, and you may not be so lucky." I growled quietly. He squeaked and flew off, still massaging his ears. I smirked. "With any luck, his ears will be ringing for a week!" I laughed. Everyone stopped staring at me and we made it to the hotel in a matter of minutes. While Yukina was tending various wounds, I was staring out the window.

'_I never thought that I'd be thinking this, but how will I go to school? People at school are allergic to cats and I can't exactly explain the ears and tail. Though that would be a great Halloween costume... My friend is allergic to cats... Damn._' I thought. I was jerked out of my thoughts when someone tapped my shoulder. I winced as I jumped and turned. I was expecting to see Yukina or Kurama or even Hiei, but NO... It was...

"AHHH!" I yelled and backed away. "Koenma, do NOT do that!" The teen Koenma was standing there. He was looking at me like a scientist looks at a new specimen. I started to get annoyed and got up to walk around.

'_How many people get on my nerves here? Let me see... Botan, Koenma, Kuwabara, and Jin... Toguro annoys me too... I think that's it..._' I thought. Automatically, I braced myself for a 'Hiei Comment', but thankfully, none came. Maybe he actually listened to someone for once... Wow...

'_No, I just don't feel like talking to anyone._'

'_Did I think that out loud? Sorry._' Botan came over to me.

"You've been really tensed up, especially in your right arm. Is something bothering you?" she seemed genuinely concerned. I decided to be polite instead of annoyed at her.

"Nah, just my shoulder acting up. I pulled something in it a while ago and I can't relax it too much or it hurts. Nothing I can't handle. I'm fine." I said. This was true, I did pull something in my shoulder and it was acting up. I didn't think anyone would notice.

'_Maybe I could ask Yukina to look at it? Nah, she has her hands full with Kuwabaka over there... Ah, well... It'll pass sooner or later, like always._' I looked around. '_Where did his Royal Pain-In-The-Ass disappear to? Then again, why should I care? He annoys me. Oh, well... Hey, I bet I could freak everyone out with how much I know about them... Heh, heh... Like how Yusuke uses Super Glue in his hair gel, or Kuwabaka's freaky obsession with little kitties... Wait, kitties? Damn, I'm a cat now... Shit..._' I felt a chill in my bad shoulder and I looked over. Yukina was looking at my shoulder and her hand was glowing. '_Um... Ok...Yeah... Who told her? Or did she figure it out herself? Oh, well, I'll deal with that later._'

"Thanks, Yukina." I said with a smile. She pressed something into my hand and went off. I looked at the little hard thing she gave me and gasped. A hiruiseki stone?! Why in the seven levels of hell would she give me one of these?! I stood there staring at it till Hiei brought me out of my thoughts. Quite suddenly, I might add.

'_What did my sister give you?_' he asked. I jumped.

'_You swear you won't kill me if I tell you?_'

'_Hn. Yes._'

'_Ok... She gave me a hiruiseki. I don't know why, though._'

'_She must consider you a close friend._'

'_But she only met me today!_'

'_Hn._' I slipped the beautiful stone into my pocket and went back to staring out the window. My mind wandered until it settled on thinking about the episodes of the show where the artifacts were stolen. I saw every one of them and the one with the Shadow Sword was my favorite. That was the only time I saw Hiei in demon form and beat the crap out of Yusuke. I sighed.

Then I remembered that I had my backpack with me. Wherever my bag is, my Bishi Shrines were with it. I got my bag and brought out the two folders. One was silvery-white and the other was pure black. They both had the words 'Bishi Shrine' written on them in big, blood-red letters. I opened the silvery one to the first paper and stared at it. It was my Youko Kurama Shrine. It had about a hundred different pictures of Youko Kurama in it. The other was my Hiei Shrine. I loved them both. What can I say? I'm a fangirl.

My ears twitched and I heard someone coming up behind me. I closed the folder and turned around just as Kurama came up behind me. I caught the scent of roses and grass from him.

"What are those?" he asked politely. I almost melted. '_To think he is the deadly Youko..._'

"Just some pictures and other papers that I keep with me. Why?"

"Can I see them?" I handed him a random folder. As soon as it was in his hand I realized my mistake. I had handed him the silver folder. '_Shit. Dammit, did I HAVE to hand him the Youko Kurama folder? Did I?!_'

Then I remembered what I had written on the inside of the folder flaps. The beautiful, yet deadly silver fox, Youko Kurama. Hell, yeah! Damn my fangirlism. Just before Kurama opened the folder, I came to my senses and ran. I ran straight into Kuwabara.

"Hey, girl. Wanna hang with the great Kazuma Kuwabara for a while?" he asked stupidly.

"I'd rather go on a date with Jin. If I didn't want to be able to get home, I'd let Hiei carve you into mincemeat and then I'd ask him to vaporize what ever was left. Oh, and I can blackmail you with the knowledge of your obsession with cats and the fact that Yusuke had to save Ieikichi for you. Ooh, seeing your face when you saw him run and save that cat was priceless!"

"How do you know about that?" he asked dumbly.

"Do you know that when you talk, you sound like you're trying to spread your stupidity? It's really irritating. Stop talking and leave me alone. Go find Yukina or something." I said.

"Yukina, my love! I'm coming!" he yelled. I stared as he ran off.

'_O.O How stupid could ya get? It should be sinful to be that dumb! And to think he's part of this group!_'

'_Hn._'

'_Hello, Hiei._'

'_Hn, hello._'

'_Is there any REASON why you seem to have set up a semi-permanent link to my mind?_'

'_Do I need a reason?_'

'_It's MY mind, so yes._'

'_Hn._'

'_Of course, I could always let it 'slip' to Yukina that I have a clue about her twin..._'

'_You spill, I kill. Simple as that, baka onna._'

'_Since when did you turn to using a Ningen form of threats? It really doesn't suit you._'

'_Hn._'

'_THAT'S the Hiei I know and adore._'

'_Hn._'

I was about to reply when Kurama walked up to me with my Shrine. Again, I smelled the scent of roses and grass. He handed it to me and was about to walk away when I stopped him.

"I guess you can tell by now that I am a fangirl and that I adore and worship the pictures in that folder, hm?"

"Yes, and some of the images that I saw in there were very old. I'm surprised that anyone had those anymore."

"So sue me, I'm a collector. I'm online for hours on end, ever searching for the perfect picture. I saw one of Hiei in a gray hoodie once, I think. I'm not sure; it might have been another outfit. I liked it, though."

"I was the one who got him into that outfit..." Kurama muttered thoughtfully.

"So there IS one like that?! Ohmygod,ohmygod,ohmygod! Oh, wait, this one too..." I dug into the silver folder and brought out a picture of Youko and normal Kurama in the same picture, Kurama wearing a green outfit that looked like a kimono-thing with pants. I stared at it until Kurama brought me back around.

"Why don't you go outside? It's nice out and every demon for miles would be long gone after today's fight." I nodded and went outside.

I looked around at the trees until one in particular caught my eye. It was a kind of short tree and looked kinda like a claw. It had dark patches that looked suspiciously like stains on it. It looked inviting and I went over to it.

* * *

There. 11, 11 PAGES! Now, R&R! the offer of cyber bronwies and cookies still stands for the first reviewer!only this time the first person gets a Hiei OR Youko huggle too!

-LoneHowl


	4. 4: Fear and Friends

Ok. Disclaimer: No own, no sue.

* * *

I climbed up it and got comfortable. The tree would have offered a perfect view of the Western sky to show the sunset, of at least the Makai equivalent of it, had it not been the middle of the day. I just stared at the sky, not thinking of anything in particular, when Hiei's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Or, in his case, a katana.

"So I see that you have been accepted by the Hanyou's Claw. Bravo, not many are accepted. Most are crushed by it because only a true hanyou can rest in it or be anywhere within five feet of it." He said with a smirk. I jumped.

"...Eh? 'Hanyou's Claw'? 'Hanyou', as in 'half-breed' or 'halfling'?" I said, my mind spinning.

"That's what I said."

"Why was I accepted then?"

"You're a hanyou."

"Dumbnuts, I knew that. I'm saying, why me and not someone else?"

"Ask Kurama, it's his tree."

"I should have known that."

"And you didn't?"

"Sorry, but my common sense is a little off right now. If it was a normal day for me, I would have known whose tree it was."

"Hn." "And that particular 'hn' meant 'And I care about that useless piece of information why?'"

"Hn?"

"And that one meant 'How did you know that?' I know how to translate what I call 'Hiei speech'." Hiei was silent for a moment. Then he looked at me.

"Your mother was very irritated that night. Why was she yelling?" He asked in, surprisingly, a gentle tone. (AN: it's the sign of the apocalypse!)

"I didn't get the best marks in the lesson like she wanted me too. She seems to think that I can be a straight 'A' student like she was in school. She was also the worst neat freak that I've ever seen. Wait... It was you who was watching me!"

"At least you knew your mother..." He looked down. I sighed and hopped out of the Hanyou's Claw. And then I did the stupidest thing I could ever do. I replied to his comment.

"Hiei, you know as well as I do that she would have loved you with all her heart. Her friend wanted to keep you until you were a little older, but she wasn't allowed." Instantly, I slapped my hands over my mouth and closed my eyes, waiting for the impending sword in my skin or the flames of the Makai coming to burn me to ashes. But it never came.

"You're not gonna slice me into mincemeat? You're not gonna burn me into a little pile of ashes?" I managed to squeak out. He looked at me but changed the subject.

"I heard you talking about Karasu. What do you think about him?" He asked.

"Three words. Karasu. Is. Gay." I said. 'He's creepy too. He tried to get all touchy-feely with Kurama and... GOD that's just wrong!' Hiei nodded. Sometimes it's far too easy to forget he can read minds. I closed my eyes and thought back to the episode where Kurama runs into Karasu while trying to leave the stadium and Karasu tried to feel Kurama. THAT just made me shiver, it was SO wrong.

I opened my eyes to find a little glowing marble-thing in my hand. It was a bright purple with streaks of shocking yellow in it. I stared. The marble-ball-glowy-thing was about the size of a pebble and was pulsating with energy. Hiei stared at it as well.

"What is that?" He finally asked me.

"I have no clue. I'll call it the Cherry Bomb. It looks like a marble."

"What's a marble?"

"Its a little glass ball that Ningen children like to play with. Let me rephrase my comment. It looks like a hiruiseki. Only it's weird colors." I threw it at a huge rock that was nearby. Huge as in as big as a garage. The rock exploded. Hiei and I stared.

"Hiei. That," I said pointing at what little dust remained, "That never happened." I managed to say. There were two things on my mind. One was that I just blew up a boulder, and two, Hiei openly stared at something. This was all waaaaaay too freaky.

"Agreed. That rock was never there." He said, his eyes wide.

"Ok, that must have really surprised you because you are staring at it. You usually never stare at ANYTHING without good reason." Then, yet another random thought worked its way from my mind. I get way too many of those. '_How many stairs ARE there leading to Genkai's shrine?_'

'_Two hundred and twelve._'

'_I'm not going to say a word._'

'_You just said seven._'

'_Holy shit. Has Hiei finally discovered what a sense of humor is?_'

'_Hn._'

'_That's better._'

'_Hn._' Can we say 'random thought'?

'_I just figured out that Touya is kinda cute. I like his eyes._' At that very moment, Touya and Jin walked into the clearing.

"Well, that was oddly on cue." I said. Hiei said nothing but ran off. My ears drooped. "Yeah, leave me with the two healthy members of the Shinobi. PERFECT." Jin was busy flying around the clearing. He caught sight of me and nearly fell out of the air.

"Oi, Cat-Girl! Keep 'er away from me!" He yelled as he dove behind Touya. I almost didn't catch what he said because I was busy inching away from Touya.

"Oh, god, it's Ice-Dude. Ice-Dude is lethal. Must keep away from lethal Ice- Dude." I kept muttering over and over. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

'_He won't hurt me._' The rational part of my mind said. '_But he hurt Kurama!_' said my fangirl-ness. '_They had to fight, he had no choice._' said my rational mind. '_But he's still lethal!_' came the reply. '_He won't hurt me, he has no reason to._' I sat down on the ground. '_But—_'

'_As much as I like to hear you argue with yourself, SHUT UP!_' came Hiei's voice, breaking off my train of thought.

'_Thanks, Hiei, I needed that._' I opened my eyes...

...To stare into a pair of teal ones. I was so surprised that I didn't react. Was it me, or was the area colder all of a sudden? I got nervous and started to fiddle with the tip of my tail. Suddenly, my fur sparked. CRACK.

"Ow!" SNAP.

"That hurts!" CRACKLE. That's when I figured it out. Sparks form with dry air and if the air is cold, then it's mostly dry, too. "Ok, move away, Touya. You're making the air cold which makes it dry which makes my fur spark." I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." He said. He backed away from me and the air returned to normal. I started to get nervous. Jin seemed to forget about me and he sat in the air some twenty feet away, fiddling with his ears. I, being me, just had to say something.

"Jin, you could hurt something with those ears if you're not careful." I said quietly. I started to get nervous again so I stood up and started to walk out of the clearing.

'_Hiei, this would be the perfect time to COME AND GET ME?!_' I thought.

'_And why would I do that?_' he replied lazily. I growled quietly and stopped walking.

'_Because if you don't, I'll track you down and poke your Jagan so hard you won't be able to open it for a month. Ask anyone I know, they can tell you how hard I can poke. And THEN I'll tease you endlessly about that one time that Yusuke actually showed some brains and beat you using the Spirit Gun and the Forlorn Hope. THAT'S why. Though I DID like the way you beat the crap out of him before hand._' I said.

'Hn. I'll come and get you if you can guess which tree I'm in.' he replied. Most people would have panicked when they saw all the trees around, but I just sighed. I know Hiei almost as well as Kurama does, if not just as well.

'_I'm not stupid. You're in the tree right above me. Any idiot would know that._'

'_So you are smarter than you look._'

'_Well forgive me if I'm not Kurama! Now COME AND GET ME OUT OF HERE!_'

'_Hn. Fine._' I heard some shuffling above my head and I moved to the left just as Hiei landed in the spot where I was. My nose picked up the scent of pine needles and fresh water.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I need to take this girl back with me." He said. (AN: He talked in whole sentences!) Touya nodded and Jin just sat there. Hiei started to walk and I followed him.

"Hiei, would you believe me if I said that I never saw the finals but I know who wins the tournament?"

"Depends on what you know."

"What if I said that I know what team will win this tournament but someone will die."

"I'd have to ask who died."

"...Yusuke gets himself killed a second time, this time with a stab through the chest... At least... I think so..."

"So who wins?"

"Oh, I'm PRETTY sure you guys do, but no guarantees. I know that something happens to Puu and some such... Kurama uses that Fruit of Past Life potion thing that Suzuka gave him... And since -when- do you talk this much?"

"Hn."

"Well, that's normal, at least... Oh, and when Kurama goes ballistic, it looks so friggin awesome! But after he kills Karasu, they call that Karasu still wins. I dunno why, though." Hiei went 'Hn.' again and we kept going. There was silence until I brought something up.

"Hiei, I know why you tolerate Kuwabara." I said quietly.

"Hn. And why do I do that?"

"...Because you want to see Yukina stay happy. You want her to be happy even though she hasn't achieved her goal."

"Why won't you just state that one simple fact that everyone seems to know?!" I stared. He NEVER yells.

"Hey, I may have the observance skills of a rock, but I'm not stupid! And besides, the baka doesn't know, for obvious reasons."

"Hn."

"Hiei?"

"Yes?"

"That guy who gave you the Jagan, Shigure I think, said that YOU couldn't tell her, right? Well, what if, even if you don't want us to, someone ELSE told her? That wouldn't affect you because it wasn't you who told her. And he specifically said that YOU couldn't tell. Loophole!"

"Yes, but you WON'T tell, now will you? Because you know what will happen if you do." He gave me a feral smirk. I decided that I did NOT like that smirk.

"Eep."

"Exactly." The rest of the trip went in silence. By the time we made it to the hotel room, I was tired. As in, sleepy. Everyone else was doing their own thing, so I walked into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. I drifted off to sleep thinking about how the hell I got myself into this mess.  
  
Dream Sequence  
  
_I was standing in a dark place. It was so cold and everything was blackness... I rubbed my hands over my arms to warm them. My ears flattened to the top of my head in an effort to keep warm. I wrapped my tail around my waist as tight as I could. _

_Slowly, the place started to warm up. It got progressively hotter. Soon, my sweatshirt was around my waist instead of my tail and my pants were rolled up to my shins. _

_That's when it happened. All around me, flames started to appear. _

_At first they were normal red and orange flames. Then they turned yellow. Then blue with a white core. I knew from science that blue flames were second only to white in heat. Instead of going to white, the flames began to darken. The blue turned to black and the white cores went violet. They were turning into Darkness Flames. _

_Up until this point, I was holding in my fear. Now I lost it. I screamed. _

_Suddenly, the flames started to die out and return to Mortal Flames. I was relaxed and I calmed down. For no reason at all, I began to hear a rumbling sound. It took me a second to figure out what it was and where it came from. I was purring! I stood there for a minute and then I woke up. _

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There. New chapter. R&R!

-LoneHowl


	5. 5: The lowdown

Ok, Sorry for the insane shortage of updates and shortness of chapters. -hands out youko kurama, toushin yusuke, and meijin hiei plushies- Better? This is the last of my pre-writen stuff, so after this, I need ideas.

Disclaimer: -has one of hiei's arms. the lawyers have the other- I WANNA KEEP HIM!

lawyers: NO!

HE'S MY BISHONEN!

lawyers: NO HE'S NOT! YOU DON'T OWN HIM!

...I hate you guys, you know that? -slowly lets go of hiei-

lawyers: yes, we do know that. -lawyers leave-

* * *

Normal POV  
  
Megan started to toss and turn in the bed. Hiei had decided to check on her for some reason after coming back from doing whatever. He had seen her shivering and covered her up.

'_Am I going soft?! Why do I suddenly care so much about this onna?_' he thought, disgusted. '_It's not like she's my-_' he stopped there, about to think 'sister'. '_-family. I'm a demon, she's a hanyou. Not even full demon. So why should I care?_' During this, the girl began to get restless. She started to whimper. Hiei, in a (very) rare show of care that was normally saved for his sister, sat down and petted her head gingerly.

When Megan began to calm down, he began to wrack his brain for anything related to cats that the baka might have said in the past. He started to scratch behind her ears and heard a rumbling sound. Looking around, he realized that the sound was coming from the girl whose head was now in his lap.

'_What did the baka call it again? Oh, purring. It means that the cat is happy or content..._' The door opened quietly. Bits of a conversation could be heard.

"-the only place not checked-"

"-but why would he be-" Hiei ignored them. The neko's ears began to twitch. Quiet footsteps, so quiet that Hiei almost didn't hear them, came in. The door shut with a soft click. Hiei looked up to see Yukina walking to the bed.

"There you are, Hiei-san. Everyone is looking for you." She said. "Oh..." Yukina noticed Megan. "Oh, how cute, Hiei-san!" She said. Megan's ears folded back she opened her eyes.  
  
Megan's POV  
  
'_KAMI, that was a FREAKY dream..._' I thought, still groggy from sleep. '_I think I smell something..._' Trying to focus, I smelled pine needles and fresh water on one side and lilies and fresh water on the other.

'_I've smelled that before..._' I thought, smelling the pine needles again. Folding my ears back, I tried to focus a little more. Not being able to identify the scent, I opened my eyes. As my vision cleared, I saw who I smelled. I blushed.

'_Just my luck to wake up to the twins..._' I thought. Hiei discretely glared at me. Blushing, I sat up.

"Um..." I said, trying to think of something to say. Thankfully, Yukina broke the silence.

"You must have been very tired to fall asleep that quickly. I was sent in to wake you. The others want to speak with you." She said. I only nodded. Hiei hn-ed and vanished. Used to this by now, I got up. Yukina motioned for me to follow and walked out the door. Slightly puzzled, I followed her.

Everyone was either sitting around or standing. They were all silent. And staring at me. Glancing around, I started to get nervous. I stood there rigidly, as if trying to shrink out of existence. Finally, I snapped.

"Stop staring! It freaks me out because Bishonen never blink!" I said loudly. None of them stopped staring. If anything, only Kurama and Yusuke blinked.

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-.-() The shortness is a curse... The writer's block is a plauge... And the reviewers are my source of insperation. HELP ME!

R&R


	6. 6: Beware, spoilers

Sorry for the incredible shortness. Writers block is the worst thing ever to happen in the history of fanfics! Oh, spoiler and look at my bio for a notice! 

Disclaimer: -sniffles- I no own... I had a dream that I did though!, but alas, it was only a dream...

* * *

Last time:

Everyone in Team Urameshi was either sitting around or standing. They were all silent. And staring at me. Glancing around, I started to get nervous. I stood there rigidly, as if trying to shrink out of existence. Finally, I snapped.

"Stop staring! It freaks me out because Bishonen never blink!" I said loudly. None of them stopped staring. If anything, only Kurama and Yusuke blinked. Better than nothing I guess...

* * *

Koenma finally broke the silence.

"If you don't mind me asking, who were your parents?"

"My mom... her family name was Shirogane before she met my father." I said. Koenma stiffened but motioned for me to continue. "I never knew my father, and Mom never talks about him. The only thing she ever said was that he walked out of her when I was like one or two. And I know that when I was human, she said that I had inherited his hair. Pitch black, straight as a lance." At this, everyone twitched, Kurama most noticeably.

Koenma thanked me and walked out. As he opened the door, Botan walked in, her eyes filled with tears. It was right then that I knew why Yusuke had been so quiet the whole time. Genkai had died, maybe an hour or so ago, while I was asleep. Maybe that was the reason for my nightmare...

I looked at the time. Two hours before Tournament Finals start. I looked at Yusuke. I gave him a look that clearly said 'I need to talk to you later. Alone.' He gave a small nod to show he understood. I put my hands in my pockets, a sign that I was nervous. My right hand felt the hiruiseki stone that Yukina gave me. I suddenly felt less nervous.

'_Weird,_' I thought, '_but effective._' All the men filed out the door, going to do their own thing. Yusuke was last. I stopped him.

"Matte, Yusuke." I said. He stopped and looked away.

"What? I'm not in the mood right now." He said roughly.

"I was just saying; I'll be the replacement team member if you need one. Koenma couldn't fight for crap." I offered, phrasing it carefully in case someone was listening in. Fortunatly, he understood.

"Is that all?" he muttered.

"Beat the shit out of Toguro for us? Kami knows he needs it and I hate him as much as anyone." I grinned. Yusuke just left.

'_Rude much?_' I thought. I decided to find Keiko and see if she had any more of those breakfast bars left. I was getting hungry. I followed her scent and found her playing cards with Shizuru, Yukina, and Botan. Botan's eyes were still a bit misty. It was Yukina who noticed me first, which surprised me.

"Oh, hello, would you like to come and play with us?" she said. Everyone else looked up at me. I shoved my hands into my pockets again and bit my lip.

"Yes, good idea, Yukina! Please, come and play cards with us!" Botan said, obviously trying to hide her feelings at having to ferry Genkai's soul.

"Yeah, come have some fun! You've been so uptight this whole time." Shizuru put in. I nervously walked over and sat next to Botan. I figured that my hatred would have to wait. She was almost visibly upset. Against my YYH fan side of my brain, I comforted her.

"Botan, I practically cried when I saw the episode myself." I whispered so only she could hear me. "Chill." She looked up at me, shocked.

"How did you-?" she whispered.

"I saw the entire series up to the finals at least three times." I whispered back. "Don't you think I would have seen it at least once?" (AN: sadly, no. pathetic, ne?) She nodded slowly and I could actually see her felling a little better. Well, there's my good deed for the day.

* * *

Like I said, writers block stories = insane shortness.

Oh, well, spoiler time!

---

I walked into the stadium with the team. The crowds roaring was getting unbearable! I flattened my ears back. Getting fed up, I tried using the technique that Kurama showed me for going human. I pulled it off and rubbed my now-human ears in relief. I sighed but kept my hearing at near-demon strength.

"Oh, wow, Team Urameshi has a new fighter! We don't know what this girl is capable of, so I can only assume that she's going to give us a good fight!" Koto practically screamed into her microphone. I twitched.

'_Kill Koto, kill Koto, kill her!_' I screamed in my head. Hiei looked over at me. I blushed and tried to cut the link he made. I failed. I was about to say something when Koto anounced that each team send out their first fighter. I watched as Karasu stepped into the ring. Kurama went into the ring next. I twitched.

'_Hopefully I won't cry my eyes out like I did when I saw the episode..._' I thought. Karasu glanced at me and nearly did a double take. He walked over to out edge of the ring and looked straight into my eyes.

"What do you want, bastard?" I growled. Hiei took a step closer to me.

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your otousan, my musume?" he said quietly.

---

There, now R&R!


	7. 7: Going back

Ok, before I start this chapter, I want to say this to Volpone. Excuse my language, but who the FUCK do you think you are?! So you hate SI's, big deal! Don't like, don't read! I, and most of the reviewers too, think that this is VERY well written.

Even though I'm not that fond of half the cast, I'm still a huge fan because the storyline is awesome and the characters are great, whether I hate them or not!

I'm absolutely in love with Hiei and I know that there are others out there who share most of, if not all, of my opinions!

I don't know why I hate Koto, there's just this thing about her that makes me want to ring her neck!

And about the cat/crow thing, if you READ the next few chapters, it'll all be explained.

About the bashing. I'm only bashing who I don't like, and if someone asks me to not bash a specific character, I'll tone it down.

And no, I won't go to My parents just barely let me join ff.n, so do you really think that they would let me go there too?! Besides, why would I go there when I have readers here?

And one last thing. THIS STORY ISN'T TRASH AND IT'S -NOT- POLLUTING FF.N, GOD DAMN IT! Ok, sorry to my REAL readers, -glares at volpone- who actually came here to read and had to sit through this. -looks at rant- I've always wanted to do that. Read on!

Disclaimer: The classic. I no own, you no sue.

* * *

After a few hands of cards, I asked Keiko what time it was.

"About eleven, why?"

"Thanks, I wanted to find one of the guys. I have a question for Kurama and I wanted to know where to find him." That's when Shizuru spoke up.

"Oh, I think he's at his Hanyou Claw tree." She told me.

"Thanks, Shizuru." I said. She nodded and I left. Once outside, I took the path from earlier that day; was it only that day? Sniffing the air, I found the scent of roses and followed it. I came to the familiar clearing after a minute of running down the path. As I got closer to the clearing, Kurama's scent changed. It still had the roses in it, but now instead of being sweeter, it was getting more sour; acidic, even. It took me a few seconds to figure out why.

'_Shit, didn't he mention that he tested the Potion of Past Lives the night before the fights?! That means that Youko was out during that night... GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!_' I was about to turn and run, planning on coming back in about twenty minutes when it was safe when something wound around my ankles and tripped me. I looked to find a vine wrapped around my ankles just above my sneakers. Getting really scared now, I tried to get the plant off but it only got tighter. I winced.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A kitten in a trap?" a deep voice said from behind me. Out of pure fear, I froze. "Your name... Megan, was it? What were you doing here?" Terrified, I gave a barely audible squeak. Youko came down close to my face. I started trembling. "I..." "Well?"

"IwaslookingforShuiichitoaskhimsomethingbutIforgotwhattonightwas!" I said really quickly. I bit my lip and waited for his answer. '_God, of all the times to get scared of a hot Bishonen, it's now when he's less than a foot away._'

"Ah, yes, Shuiichi does think about you often. He wonders where you came from and how you got here. And how you know the outcome of the tournament." Youko said after a second of silence. I assumed he could talk with Shuiichi in his mind. The vine around my feet loosened and fell off.

'_Wait... I only said that to Hiei... How could Kurama know...?' I thought. Then it hit me. 'Duh, best friends, they know all about each other!_' I slowly stood up. Even with my new height, Youko was still about a foot taller than me. He started to walk back towards the Hanyou's Claw tree. I just stood there, the fear still raging through my system.

"You are welcome to join me." Youko commented without turning to face me. "You haven't posed a threat."

"Th-thanks." I said. I walked into the clearing and headed straight to the Hanyou's Claw. As soon as I was in the branches, I felt safer. Getting comfortable, I watched as Youko tested his skills to make sure he was still good at them. I particularly liked that lily he grew... He did this for about ten minutes. That's when the smoke started to rise around him.

It swirled around him, completely blocking him from view. When the smoke cleared, the normal Kurama was standing where Youko was. He immediately saw me in his tree.

"Oh, Youko didn't hurt you, did he?" was the first thing he asked me.

"No, he was actually very polite. Though he DID scare me half to death at first."

"As long as he didn't hurt you."

"Oh, and if you go online back at my house, you can find spoilers and episode guides to the show." "Oh, thank you." there was a second of silence.

"Kurama? Could you teach me to go into my human form? I kinda don't want the ears and tail anymore." I asked.

"Ok." He agreed. He began instructing me on how to change back into my other form. After about half an hour, I finally got it right.

There was a grey haze the formed around me and I felt the changes happening, except in reverse. I felt my height go from whatever it was back to 5'7". My nose went back to normal and I felt stuffed up. My ears changes back to human ears and everything sounded muted. My tail vanished and I had to catch my balance again. My eyes were next, everything seemed to get darker and I felt my glasses re-appear. The last thing was my hair and claws. My hair straightened from wavy, turned pitch black, and gained about an inch in length. My nails shrank and blunted, completing the transformation. The haze cleared.

"YAY, IT WORKED!" I cried excitedly, bouncing up and down. I saw Kurama flinch a little, but ignored it. I grabbed a handful of my hair and admired the darker color. I then took off my glasses and looked at them as if seeing them for the first time. I put them back on, seeing as my vision was almost nil without them, and rubbed my ears. That's when one of the trees near me exploded. I jumped. Kurama did too. I glanced at him. He looked around, then shrugged, indicating that she had no clue what had happened, or that he didn't want me to worry. Accepting that, I ran my tongue over my teeth, happily discovering that my fangs were gone. I started bouncing again, happy to be myself once more.

"Now try going back." Kurama challenged. I froze mid-bounce, which is NOT a good thing to do if you happen to be in mid-air at the time. Getting up off of the ground, I sighed and used the technique in reverse. The changes happened again and soon I was a cat. After thanking Kurama over and over, I ran back to the hotel.

Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru, and Botan were still playing cards when I got back. Deciding to use my cat stealth, I went quietly into the room. I think Shizuru noticed me and maybe Yukina and Botan, but I know that Keiko didn't notice. I walked right up behind Keiko and Botan. Yukina and Shizuru saw me, but I motioned for them to be quiet. Then I leaned down and—

"Hey, who's winning?" I asked casually. I had to resist laughing when both Keiko and Botan jumped about a foot off the couch.

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There you have it. Now, people, REVIEW! 


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